TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast

Episode #682: Why Assault Weapons Bans Don't Work with John Lott

Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Marty Bent
Guest: Dr. John Lott – President, Crime Prevention Research Center, Author of More Guns, Less Crime and Gun Control Myths

Episode Overview

In this episode, Marty Bent sits down with Dr. John Lott to dissect the myths and realities surrounding gun control, with a focus on assault weapons bans and gun registration. Drawing parallels between financial regulations and firearm regulations, they explore data manipulation, the ineffectiveness of policy measures such as gun registries and assault weapons bans, and the underlying societal and political motives driving these initiatives. The conversation confronts flawed narratives perpetuated by media and politicians, discusses real-world international and U.S.-based case studies, and highlights the often overlooked cost and unintended consequences of gun control legislation, especially for minorities and the economically disadvantaged.

Major Themes and Discussion Highlights

1. The True Purpose and Effectiveness of Gun Registries

(01:06 - 08:45)

• Dr. Lott argues that gun registries are ineffective for solving crimes, citing evidence from decades-long registries in states like Hawaii and cities like Chicago and D.C. Police chiefs themselves could not point to a single crime solved because of gun registration.
• Resource Diversion: Maintaining registries takes up massive police resources (e.g., Honolulu PD spends 50,000 hours/year), diverting efforts from more effective crime-fighting activities.
• Comparison to Financial Regulation: Marty draws parallels to KYC/AML compliance in banking, arguing both systems exist mainly to "bag and tag" individuals, making it easier to restrict political or social dissent.
  • "The obsession with collecting as much personal identifying information on individuals to track them is wrought throughout the government." – Marty (07:10)

2. Myths Perpetuated by Media and Politicians

(10:30 - 24:54)

• Narrative vs. Reality: Lott explains how media and politicians intentionally misrepresent data, influencing public perception.
• Target Selection in Mass Shootings: Lott describes cases where shooters deliberately choose gun-free zones because they know victims won't be armed—a critical point the media omits.
  • "You have several dozen of these mass murderers where they've made explicit statements about why they picked the target." – Lott (11:40)
• Omission of Defensive Gun Use: Instances where mass shootings are stopped by armed civilians rarely reach national news, contrasting the saturation of coverage for “uninterrupted” tragedies.
  • "If the permit holder hadn't been there... how much national and international news coverage it would have gotten?" – Lott (17:40)
• International Comparisons Skewed: U.S. is not unique in mass public shootings when adjusted for population; events in Europe (e.g., Norway, France) surpass U.S. incidents per capita.

3. Bans and Their Unintended Outcomes

(27:38 - 35:43)

• Failed Experiments: Citywide gun bans in Chicago and D.C. resulted in increased murder rates, not decreases, mirroring patterns in other countries (Jamaica, Solomon Islands, Ireland, UK).
  • "Every single time that either all guns or all handguns have been banned, murder rates have gone up." – Lott (27:38)
• Historical Perspective: Many countries had low crime rates before implementing strict gun controls (e.g., UK in 1900 had only two gun murders in 8 million people, despite widespread gun ownership).

4. Policies that Actually Reduce Crime

(34:40 - 44:58)

• Making Crime Riskier: Effective approaches raise risk to the criminal, through higher arrest rates, longer sentences, or allowing citizens to defend themselves.
• Repeat Offenders: Failure to lock up repeat offenders (often justified under the banner of “racial justice”) results in disproportionate harm to communities of color.
  • "If you want to go and be easy on the black criminals, what it means is you're being bad to the black victims that are there." – Lott (35:43)
• Federal Intervention Example: When the Trump administration increased federal law enforcement in D.C., violent and property crimes dropped dramatically; residents in high-crime neighborhoods were strongly supportive of the intervention.

5. Challenges with Data, Racial Impact, and Background Checks

(51:08 - 63:23)

• Anatomy of 'Anarcho-Tyranny': Reluctance to prosecute or even accurately count crimes often stems from a desire to portray progressive criminal justice policies as successful.
• Disparate Impact: Gun control – especially background checks – disproportionately restricts poor and minority communities from exercising their right to self-defense.
  • "About 18% of Hispanic males are felons, about 34% of black males are felons... so where do you see the mistakes? You see the mistakes overwhelmingly involving black males and Hispanic males..." – Lott (51:08)
• Costly Appeals: Erroneous denials from background checks are rarely challenged due to legal costs.
  • "Is it really worth $3,000 to go through the process to go and get a mistake fixed that was a mistake caused by the government?" – Lott (58:35)
• Hidden Taxes: Laws requiring one background check per gun in private transfers drive up costs astronomically, discouraging lawful ownership.

6. Assault Weapons Ban: Facts vs. Fiction

(71:16 - 76:01)

• Cosmetic Law: The federal assault weapons ban was based on cosmetic features, not functionality—manufacturers could easily skirt regulations with minor changes.
• Ineffectiveness Demonstrated: Studies show the ban had no impact on crime or mass shootings. In some cases, the proportion of assault weapons used increased during the ban.
  • "If it was the assault weapons ban that was driving the change... you got the opposite." – Lott (71:48)
• AR-15 Misinformation: The AR-15 is functionally the same as many other semi-automatics; its demonization is largely based on its appearance.

7. Media & Academic Bias, Funding Disparities

(76:08 - 78:50)

• David vs. Goliath in Research: Lott’s organization operates on $400k/year, while government grants and philanthropic institutions funnel $100M+ annually into public health gun control research, which often reflects their funders’ biases.
  • "We have five people that work for us... The federal government gives out $100 million a year for public health research on guns." – Lott (76:08)
• Call to Action: Lott urges listeners to support independent research and critically examine narratives promoted by mainstream media and government.

Notable Quotes

• John Lott: "When you go and you pass laws, you have to be careful that you're not primarily disarming law abiding citizens." (27:38)
• Marty Bent: "You can ban guns, you can disarm society, but that doesn't stop bad people from doing bad things." (24:54)
• John Lott: "Criminals tend to harm others that are similar to themselves... Who owns homes whose property values are depressed because of higher crime rates? Well, again, it's overwhelmingly blacks." (51:08)
• John Lott: "The people who benefit the most from owning guns are the people who are the most likely victims of violent crime... overwhelmingly tends to be poor blacks who live in high crime urban areas." (51:08)
• John Lott: "Most of the guns sold in the United States are semi-automatic guns... about 85% of the guns sold." (71:48)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [01:06] Gun Registries: Purpose and Ineffectiveness
• [08:45] KYC/AML and Parallels to Gun Registration
• [10:30] Media Myths, Gun-Free Zones, Omitted Defensive Gun Use
• [17:40] International Mass Shooting Data
• [27:38] Historical Cases: Gun Bans and Resulting Crime Rates
• [34:40] Causes of Crime: Repeat Offenders and Racial Justice Policies
• [44:58] Real-World Policy Approaches to Crime
• [51:08] Prosecutorial and Judicial Discretion, Data Manipulation
• [58:35] Background Check Errors and Costs
• [71:16] Assault Weapons Ban – What the Data Really Shows
• [76:08] Funding Disparities and Challenges of Sound Research

Final Thoughts

Dr. John Lott systematically dismantles the case for assault weapons bans and many gun control policies by rooting arguments in decades of data and real-world results, rather than emotion or media narratives. The episode emphasizes the importance of clear analysis over simplistic or politicized solutions, the vital role lawful gun ownership can serve for the most vulnerable, and the need for critical scrutiny of both political and media messaging.

Find more of John Lott's research at CrimeResearch.org.
Support independent research, and as always, think for yourself.

Books referenced:

• More Guns, Less Crime
• Gun Control Myths